HANSEL&GRETEL

Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters is a 2013 American-German action-horror dark fantasy film with black comedy elements, co-written and directed by Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola and filmed in 3D. It is a continuation to the German folk fairy tale "Hansel and Gretel", which was recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. The film stars Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton in the title roles of a brother-and-sister duo of professional witch hunters. Famke Janssen stars as the deadly leader of a coven of evil witches that they seek out to destroy.
Wirkola got the idea to create a film based on the adult lives of Hansel and Gretel in 2007 while at film school in Australia. After being discovered by Gary Sanchez Productions, Wirkola pitched the idea at a meeting with Paramount Pictures and won a contract. Filming began in March 2011 and included extensive use of traditional special effects. In addition, Renner and Arterton had a month of training before hand to prepare for the physical demands of their roles. In terms of the weapons and wardrobe, Wirkola wanted an old-world look with a modern touch and he was adamant about filming outdoors in European nature rather than in a studio. Due to his tenacity, the project was filmed in Germany and featured an international cast and crew including members from Norway, Finland, the Netherlands, Poland, England, Germany, the United States and New Zealand. This inclusive nature extended to the soundtrack as an Icelander, Atli Örvarsson, scored the film with music production supervised by German composer Hans Zimmer.
Originally scheduled for release in March 2012, Hansel and Gretel was delayed for ten months to
Abandoned by their father deep in a forest, young Hansel and Gretel enter a gingerbread house and are nabbed by the old witch who resides in it. The witch forces Hansel to continuously eat candy while making Gretel prepare the oven, but the siblings outsmart her and shove her into the fire. Throughout the fifteen years after the incident, Hansel and Gretel become famed bounty hunters dedicated to mercilessly exterminating witches. Their work is relatively easy because, for an unknown reason, they are immune to spells and curses. Hansel, however, is diabetic as a result of his ordeal and needs to take a regular shot of Insulin every day.
One day, in the town of Augsburg, Hansel and Gretel prevent Sheriff Berringer from executing Mina, a young woman accused of witchcraft. Mayor Englemann has hired the siblings to find and rescue several children abducted by witches. Berringer hires trackers for the same mission, hoping to regain the respect of the Mayor. However, all but one of the party are killed that night by the powerful grand witch Muriel, who sends the surviving member back to the town tavern to explode as a warning to the locals. Hansel and Gretel, with the help of the Mayor's deputy Jackson, capture a witch and interrogate her. They discover that the witches are preparing for the ritual of Blood Moon, which requires sacrificing six boys and six girls, each born on a separate month. Suddenly, Muriel, another witch, and a troll, Edward, attack the town and abduct the targeted girl. Gretel is knocked unconscious but is brought to safety by a local boy named Ben, their fan and an aspiring witch hunter. Hansel grabs a fleeing witch by her broomstick, but becomes lost in the forest.
The next morning, Hansel is found by Mina, who takes him to a spring to heal his wounds. Meanwhile, Gretel enters the forest to search for him, but she is assaulted by Berringer and his men for luring the witches to their town. She is rescued when Edward arrives and mutilates the men and mends her injuries. When Gretel asks why he saved her, Edward answers that trolls serve witches and walk away. Hansel and Gretel reunite at an abandoned cabin, which they discover is not only their childhood home, but also a witch's lair. Muriel appears in front of them, telling them the truth of their past. She reveals that Hansel and Gretel's mother was a grand white witch named Adrianna, married to a farmer. On the night of the Blood Moon, the heart of a white witch is needed to create a potion that makes witches impervious to fire for ever. As Adrianna was too powerful, Muriel targeted Gretel, who was revealed to be a white witch herself. Muriel spread a rumor across the village about Adrianna. To keep the siblings away from the mob of villagers, their father left them in the forest before he was hanged, while their mother was burned at the stake. Following this revelation, the siblings battle Muriel before she stabs Hansel and abducts Gretel for the ceremony.
Hansel wakes up to the sight of Mina, who reveals herself to be a white witch. After Mina uses a spell to bless the siblings' arsenal, Hansel, Mina, and Ben head to disrupt the Blood Moon Sabbath. While Mina mows down dozens of witches with a Gatling gun, Hansel squares off against Muriel's minions and frees the children, while Edward defies Muriel's orders and releases Gretel before Muriel throws him off the cliff. Muriel attempts to flee, but Ben shoots her off her broomstick. On her way to meet up with Hansel, Gretel finds Edward and uses her stun gun to defibrillate him back to life. Hansel, Gretel, and Mina follow Muriel's trail to the old gingerbread house. During their confrontation,Mina and Muriel battle as Ben and Hansel are knocked to the ground. Muriel fatally stabs Mina. The siblings engage in a grueling fight against Muriel inside the gingerbread house, until they decapitate her with a shovel. In the end, Hansel and Gretel collect the rest of their reward for rescuing the children before embarking on their next hunt, with Ben and Edward joining them.
accommodate Renner's appearances in The Avengers and The Bourne Legacy and to give Wirkola time to shoot a post-credits scene. It premiered in North America on January 25, 2013, in 2D, 3D and IMAX 3D, as well in D-Box motion theaters and select international 4DX theaters, and was rated R in the United States. Mainstream critics generally panned the film, particularly for what they saw as its weak script and gratuitous violence. However, horror genre critics were more positive, viewing the film as unpretentiously entertaining. The film topped the domestic box office on its opening weekend and was a major hit in Russia.

BROKEN CITY

Broken City is a 2013 American crime film starring Mark Wahlberg and Russell Crowe. The film was directed by Allen Hughes and written by Brian Tucker. Wahlberg stars as a police officer turned private investigator, and Crowe stars as the mayor of New York City who hires the investigator to investigate his wife.
The film is Hughes' first solo feature film directing effort; he has collaborated with his twin brother Albert in previous films. Allen met Tucker in 2010 and learned about Tucker's spec script, which had languished in development hell since Mandate Pictures attempted to produce a film in 2008. Under a partnership between Emmett/Furla Films and Regency Enterprises, Hughes began production in 2011 in New York City and Louisiana. The film was released in theaters on January 18, 2013.

NYPD detective Billy Taggart (Mark Wahlberg) is arrested for the murder of Mikey Tavarez, who raped the sister of Taggart's girlfriend Natalie Barrow (Natalie Martinez). His friend, Captain Carl Fairbanks (Jeffrey Wright) asks Mayor Nicholas Hostetler (Russell Crowe) for help, and Hostetler eliminates the evidence against Taggart. Tavarez's death is ruled as self-defense, and Taggart is forced to leave the police.
Seven years later, Taggart is a private detective on the verge of bankrupcy when he's hired by Hostetler to find out who his wife Cathleen Hostetler (Catherine Zeta-Jones) is having an affair with. Helped by his assistant, Katy Bradshaw (Alona Tal), Taggart learns that Cathleen is seeing Paul Andrews (Kyle Chandler), the campaign manager of Hostetler's rival in the upcoming elections, Jack Valliant (Barry Pepper).
Taggart attends a fundraiser for Hostetler's campaign, where Cathleen reveals that she knows Taggart is following her, and advises him not to become involved with Hostetler. However, Hostetler gets the envelope with the pictures that Taggart has taken of Cathleen meeting with Andrews, and Andrews is found dead shortly afterwards. Blaming himself, Taggart gets into a fight with Ryan Blake (Justin Chambers), who acted opposite Natalie in an indie film, causing Natalie to leave him.

Fairbanks interrogates Taggart, who admits he had been hired by Hostetler. They talk with Valliant, who reveals that Andrews was meeting Todd Lancaster (James Ransone), son of Hostetler's associate, contractor Sam Lancaster (Griffin Dunne). Taggart then meets with Cathleen, who reveals that Andrews actually provided her with information about Hostetler's plans for the Bolton Village Housing Project. Hostetler wanted to find out Cathleen's source, and manipulated Taggart to lead him to discover who it was.
Taggart investigates Sam Lancaster's construction business, and learns that Hostetler has sold the Bolton Village in order to have it demolished and replaced by office buildings, leaving hundreds of impoverished people homeless for his own profit. However, he is attacked by Hostetler's men, who destroy the evidence he has acquired. Taggart then locates Todd Lancaster and interrogates him. Todd reveals that he disagreed with Hostetler's plans and intended to give Andrews the demolition plant the night he was murdered. He gives it to Taggart instead, and Taggart confronts Hostetler, who reveals that he has the evidence that Taggart planned to murder Tavarez, and will leak it to the press if Taggart pursues him further.
Taggart admits his crimes to Fairbanks and gives him the plant. Fairbanks has Hostetler arrested and Valliant is elected mayor, preventing the demolition of the Bolton Village. Hostetler exposes Taggart's crimes, and Taggart accepts to be arrested for the benefit of the poor, including Natalie's family. He says his goodbyes to Katy and reminds her that they'll return to business once he's released from prison.

UNDEFEATED

The About face: A documentary on an underdog football team who look to reverse their fortunes with coach Bill Courtney. 

The Wild side: Set in the inner-city of Memphis, Undefeated chronicles the Manassas Tigers 2009 football season, on and off-the-field, as they strive to win the first playoff game in the high schools 110-year history. 

A perennial whipping boy, in recent decades Manassas had gone so far as to sell their home games to the highest bidder, but that all changed in the spring of 2004 when Bill Courtney, a former high school football coach turned lumber salesman, volunteered to lend a hand. When he arrived, the team consisted of 17 players, some timeworn equipment and a patch of grass masquerading as a practice field. 

Focusing more on winning young men than football games, the football program nevertheless began resurrecting itself and, in 2009, features the most talented team Manassas has ever fielded; a team that seems poised to end the playoff jinx that has plagued the school since time immemorial. 

A coming-of-age documentary film, Undefeated provides audiences an intimate view of an underprivileged group of teens and their inspirational coach, as they attempt to make history.

GHOST RIDER

host Rider is the name of several fictional supernatural antiheroes appearing in comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Night Rider and subsequently to Phantom Rider.

The first supernatural Ghost Rider is stunt motorcyclist Johnny Blaze, who, in order to save the life of his mentor, agreed to give his soul to "Satan" (later revealed to be an arch-demon named Mephisto). Instead, his soul bonded with the entity called Zarathos. When utilizing Zarathos' powers, Blaze's flesh is consumed by hellfire, causing his head to become a flaming skull. He rides a fiery motorcycle and wields trademark blasts of hellfire from his skeletal hands. He starred in the series from 1972–1983. Ghost Rider was co-created by Gary Friedrich.

The subsequent Ghost Rider series (1990–1998) featured Danny Ketch as a new Ghost Rider. After his sister was injured by ninja gangsters, Ketch came in contact with a motorcycle which had somehow been mystically enchanted to contain the essence of a "Spirit of Vengeance".

Johnny Blaze reappeared in this 1990s series as a supporting character. In mid-2000s comics, Blaze again became the Ghost Rider, succeeding Ketch.

Nicolas Cage and Matt Long played Johnny Blaze in the 2007 film Ghost Rider. Cage reprised the role in the sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2012.

In May 2011, Ghost Rider placed 90th on IGN's Top 100 Comic Book Heroes of All Time.^[1]After the western comics character who originally used the name, the next known Ghost Rider appears in the Marvel comic book Marvel Spotlight #5 (Aug. 1972), where the story and characters are credited as being created by Gary Friedrich, aided and abetted by writer-editor Roy Thomas, with artist Mike Ploog.

Johnny Blaze, a motorcycle stunt performer in a traveling circus, sold his soul to one whom he believes to be Satan but actually is the demon Mephisto (a retcon), in order to save his stepfather, "Crash" Simpson, from cancer. Crash later dies in a motorcycle accident and Mephisto attempts to take Blaze's soul, only to be thwarted by Crash's daughter Roxanne, who had learned of the deal and had prepared a counter-spell based on selfless love. Since Roxanne interrupted in the middle of the pact, Mephisto could only bind half the soul of a demon with Blaze, making him transform only at night when around evil.^[2]

Blaze then finds himself transforming into a demonic entity at nightfall, during which times he wields strange powers. He is called the Ghost Rider for his strange appearance. As time goes on, he is able to call on his demonic abilities whenever he wishes, not just at night. Eventually, he seems to have a different personality as Ghost Rider and it is finally revealed that Mephisto has forced Blaze to share his body with a demon rival named Zarathos.

Originally, Zarathos was stripped of his memories and so Blaze was in control whenever they transformed into Ghost Rider. But now, Zarathos' true personality has resurfaced and from then on it is a continuing battle for dominance between him and Blaze. Being a demon, Zarathos craves the punishment of sinners and so Blaze at times willingly releases him when criminals or other threats are nearby. However, it is always a struggle to force Zarathos back so that Blaze can resume his control and his human identity. At times, Zarathos tries to find ways to destroy Blaze's soul so that he may be free to enjoy complete physical existence.

The character received his own series in 1973, with Friedrich penning the first several issues, until writing was taken over by penciller Jim Mooney Several different creative teams mixed-and-matched until penciller Don Perlin began a long stint with #26, eventually joined by writer Michael Fleisher through #58. Tony Isabella wrote a Ghost Rider story arc where Johnny Blaze became a Christian and thereby freed himself of the curse. Isabella said that "Johnny Blaze accepts Jesus Christ into his life. This gives him the strength to overcome Satan, though with more pyrotechnics than most of us can muster. He retains the Ghost Rider powers he had been given by Satan, but they are his to use as his new faith directs him." However, the story was apparently rewritten at the last moment.^[3]

Towards the end of the run, a villain named Centurious was introduced. Centurious was a man without a soul, making him immune to Ghost Rider's hellfire, and he had a history with Zarathos. Thus Ghost Rider's career ended when Zarathos fled Blaze's body in issue #81 (June 1983), the finale, in order to pursue Centurious. Now free of his curse, Blaze went off to live with Roxanne.

In the next Ghost Rider series, it would be revealed that Roxanne and Johnny eventually got married and had two children. 

BIG MIRACLE

he About face: In small town Alaska, a news reporter recruits his ex-girlfriend - a Greenpeace volunteer - on a campaign to save a family of gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. 

The Wild side: Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. 

Local newsman Adam Carlson (John Krasinski) can't wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore). 

Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she's also his ex-girlfriend. With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world's attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War. 

The Movie facts: Dolphins. Penguins. Whales. Make a movie about them and people flock to them like gulls on a beach. Will Big Miracle, originally entitled Everbody Loves Whales, cash in at the box office? We'll never know how much MORE the movie would have made with its original title in tact, but we'd guess A LOT more.

WRATH OF THE TITANS

The About face: Perseus embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, who has been targeted for capture by his traitorous son, Ares, and his brother, Hades. 

The Wild side: A decade after his heroic defeat of the monstrous Kraken, Perseus (Avatar's Sam Worthington) - the demigod son of Zeus (Oscar nominee Liam Neeson) - is attempting to live a quieter life as a village fisherman and the sole parent to his 10-year old son, Helius. Meanwhile, a struggle for supremacy rages between the gods and the Titans. 

Dangerously weakened by humanity's lack of devotion, the gods are losing control of the imprisoned Titans and their ferocious leader, Kronos, father of the long-ruling brothers Zeus, Hades (Oscar nominee Ralph Fiennes) and Poseidon (Danny Huston).

The triumvirate had overthrown their powerful father long ago, leaving him to rot in the gloomy abyss of Tartarus, a dungeon that lies deep within the cavernous underworld. Perseus cannot ignore his true calling when Hades, along with Zeus' godly son, Ares (Edgar Ramirez), switch loyalties and make a deal with Kronos to capture Zeus. 

The Titans' strength grows stronger as Zeus' remaining godly powers are siphoned, and hell is unleashed on earth. Enlisting the help of the warrior Queen Andromeda (Rosamund Pike), Poseidon's demigod son, Argenor (Toby Kebbell), and fallen god Hephaestus (Bill Nighy), Perseus bravely embarks on a treacherous quest into the underworld to rescue Zeus, overthrow the Titans and save mankind. 

THE INNKEEPERS

The About face: A horror-thriller centered on the last two employees at a haunted hotel that's going out of business. 

The Wild side: After over one hundred years of service, The Yankee Pedlar Inn is shutting its doors for good. The last remaining employees - Claire and Luke - are determined to uncover proof of what many believe to be one of New England's most haunted hotels. As the Inn's final days draw near, odd guests check in as the pair of minimum wage "ghost hunters" begin to experience strange and alarming events that may ultimately cause them to be mere footnotes in the hotel's long unexplained history.